


if it kills us (we'll still keep going)

by victuri



Series: deviate universe [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, M/M, Parenthood, feat. keith as a good bro, finally they communicate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 09:25:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12478424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victuri/pseuds/victuri
Summary: The future, in snapshots.





	if it kills us (we'll still keep going)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [glitzybaubles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitzybaubles/gifts).



> i can't believe ya've done this

_i._

Lance shoots up from the couch the moment he sees his lovers’ worried faces. “What? What’s wrong?” he asks, looking from one to the other. “Was it bad news?”

With a sigh, Shiro admits, “I’m infertile.” 

“Oh,” Lance breathes. This is - it’s probably the worst thing that could have happened. He knows how badly Shiro and Allura want a child, and how much they want it to be theirs. Now there’s no chance for that, they can’t get IVF, can’t use a surrogate mother. There’s no option left except to adopt. “Oh, Shiro, I’m so sorry.” 

He surges forward to hug Shiro. A moment later, he feels Allura’s arms wrap around both of them. They stand like that for a while, all of them lost in their own personal grief. 

Eventually, they disentangle. Lance draws both of them to the couch and sits between them, close enough for their thighs to touch. “So, what now? Are you going to adopt?”

Shiro and Allura exchange a Look over his head. Lance sighs. He’s still a little jealous whenever they communicate like that, though he understands better now. They’ve been married for over a decade now; of course they’re going to have this - this connection he isn’t a part of, no matter how much they all might want him to be. “Guys. You know I hate it when you do that. Whatever it is, just tell me.”

“We considered adopting. But,” Allura says, very slowly, “We agreed it might be better if we get a… sperm donor.” She follows this up with a meaningful look.

Lance wrinkles his brow, confused. “Okay. That’s also an option, but why are you-” The meaning behind Allura’s Look slams into him like a train. “Oh! You mean you want - you want _me_ to-?”

Allura smiles gently and takes one of his hands in both of hers. Shiro does the same with the other hand. “Yes, Lance. We’re asking you to be the father of our child.”

A rush of emotions sweep through him; panic, elation and surprise all mingle together, leaving him speechless. He opens and closes his mouth several times before any words come out, and even then it’s only: “I- okay, wow, _wow_.”

“You can say no,” Shiro hurries to assure him. “It’s only if you want to. We know you’re still young and maybe you’re not yet ready to be a father. I mean, dating a couple with a kid is a far step from actually having a child yourself. I know we’re asking a lot of you, and it’s well within your right to refuse. Like you said, we can always adopt. It’s just, we want you to be a part of this and-”

Gently, Lance frees his hands from his lovers’ hold to cradle Shiro’s face. He places his thumbs over Shiro’s lips to silence him. “Shiro. You’re rambling,” he smiles. “I… You’re right. This is a lot to ask of me. But...” He thinks about Shiro and Allura, and how much he loves them, how he wants to be with them forever. If that means having a child a little sooner than he may originally have planned, then so be it. “I don’t mind.” 

Behind him, Allura let’s out a barely contained gasp of excitement. Hearing it, Lance’s smile falters a little bit. Much as he’s willing to do everything for his lovers, he’s just not sure if he’s ready. “I’m going to have to think about it, though.”

“That’s alright,” Shiro says, “Take your time.”

Allura hums in agreement. “It’s already amazing that you’re even considering this. Let us know what you decide after you’ve taken your time to think it over.”

* * *

Though he hasn’t seen Keith as much since he moved in with the Shirogane’s, he’s still the one he goes to for advice. 

They’re in the cafe on campus after class. Keith is drinking his coffee black like the savage he is, while Lance has loaded his with so many different sugary substances it can barely even be called coffee anymore. 

After they’ve gotten the perfunctory greetings out of the way, Lance gets right to it. He takes a deep breath and says, “Shiro and Allura want me to be the father of their kid.”

Keith freezes. He lowers his mug down to the table and moves to stand up, only stopping when Lance asks him what he’s doing. “I’m getting you a slice of chocolate cake,” he says. “I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

He comes back a few minutes later, holding a plate with a thick slice of cake on it. “Alright,” he leans over to place the cake in front of Lance before sitting back down, “What’s going on?” 

So Lance tells him, and ends it all with: “I want to, I think. But I don’t know if I’m ready.”

Keith leans his elbows on the table and steeples his fingers together. “First of all, you should think about how this is going to affect your education. You’re still in college; can you do that and take care of a child at the same time.”

“I- not if I was alone,” Lance says, staring down at the half of his cake that’s left, “But I’m not. I’d be doing this together with Shiro and Allura.”

“Okay,” Keith says, nodding wisely, “Then what about if you break up? Would you be okay with them raising the child? Could you handle raising it on your own?”

Lance’s chest feels tight all of a sudden. He takes a few bites of cake. “We’re not going to break up.” 

“Still,” Keith argues, “These are questions you should be thinking about-”

“No,” Lance shakes his head, “because we’re not going to break up.”

Keith leans back with a satisfied smile. “Then you should go for it. Unless you have some other reason you shouldn’t?” 

Lance thinks about it, and comes to the conclusion that, no, he doesn’t have any reason not to. Except maybe his own fear. 

_ii._

They fight a lot while Allura is pregnant. She’s hormonal and emotional, Shiro is stressed out of his mind and Lance is a combination of scared and excited that leaves him shaky all the time. 

All that stops, for just a moment, when they first lay eyes on their daughter. Emi Himiko Sofia Shirogane is the most beautiful person they’ve ever seen, bar none, and when she opens her brilliant blue eyes to look at them for the first time, they all forget what it is exactly they were arguing about.

 _iii._

Emi’s first birthday party is an absolute disaster. Whereas visits immediately after her birth had been spaced out, now every friend, acquaintance and family member available is jammed into their home at the same time. There’s Pigde and her brother Matt, of course; Shay and Hunk and a few select other neighbors; Allura and Shiro’s colleagues; Lance’s friends; Allura’s family, Shiro’s family and, most notably, Lance’s family. Lance’s family alone would be enough people for the house to be overcrowded, but along with everybody else it’s-

Well. It’s a lot. 

Somehow, Emi hasn’t cried yet. They’ve all done an admirable job of keeping the worst of the crowd away from her - though Lance’s grandmother Sofia pushed her way through to hug the child bearing her name - but it’s left them all exhausted. 

Mercifully, Emi starts getting fussy relatively early in the afternoon, giving her parents the perfect excuse to kick everybody out of their house. 

“You,” Lance says, nuzzling against Emi’s cheek, “are a little life-saver.”

Shiro laughs and takes Emi from him. “Alright. I think it’s time for you to take a nap, little girl. Don’t you?” Emi gurgles in response - though she might also just be gurgling for the heck of it. She does that. 

He takes Emi out of the living room, leaving Lance and Allura to collapse onto the couch. “I never want to do that again,” Lance groans. “I feel like I need to join Emi for her nap, except mine needs to be a day long.”

Allura laughs a little breathlessly. “You get used to it. Promise.”

“Oh, my God.” Lance drags his hands over his face in despair. “Do you mean grown-up events are always like this?” 

“Well,” Allura says, thinking about Lance’s rowdy friends, “not exactly. But it’s always this exhausting.” 

Lance groans loudly. “Just kill me now. End my suffering.”

Allura twists, and reaches out to caress Lance’s cheek. “You poor thing.” She smiles sharply. “Of course not. If Shiro and I have to suffer, so do you.”

 _iv._

By the time Emi starts kindergarten, Lance has graduated college. He has a job that leaves him time to drive her to school with Allura and Shiro. 

The first day, the other parents are confused about their whole situation. They think Lance is the nanny; they think he’s Emi’s uncle. Even after they explain, people don’t always understand. But, slowly, slowly, they accept them. 

_v._

“Talia said _her_ parents are getting two life-sized reindeer in their yard,” Emi says matter-of-factly. 

Shiro freezes and shares a Look with Allura and Lance behind her back. He can see their competitive spirit flare up, and he grins a smile that’s all teeth. 

“Well, then we’ll just have to buy some more decorations,” he says. “Can’t have Hunk and Shay beat us, now can we?”

Lance and Allura smile back at him, and Lance says: “Absolutely not. We’re going to be the best decorated house on the street if it kills us.”


End file.
